KABUL - The National Security Council (NSC) on Thursday welcomed the resumption of peace talks between the government and the Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), led by Gulbadin Hikmatyar, believing the process would reach a logical end.
NSC spokesman Tawab Ghorzang told a press briefing here that the council welcomed the HIA delegation’s return and that the government and the HIA were optimistic about positive result from the ongoing talks.
“The world’s history tells us that talks take time as it is a time-consuming process. We should be patient and wait for the talks result,” he said.
The previous government-HIA talks, which took almost two months, resulted in signing a draft agreement between the two sides, but later Hekmatyar sought some changes to the draft.
The High Peace Council (HPC), however, said no changes would be brought to the draft agreement earlier signed by HPC Head Pir Syed Ahmad Gilani and the HIA delegation.
However, recently the HIA claimed the Afghan government had assured them that the peace deal would be finalised this time.
According to a statement from the HIA’s political wing, peace talks with the Afghan government had been finalized, the draft agreement was also final and ready for final signature, but was delayed due to some issues.
“The government now shows willingness to finalize the deal and has invited the HIA delegation to Kabul. During the visit, final date and place for the peace deal would be announced,” the statement read.(Pajhwok)